This is my first blog of our journey throughout the world. Our trip starts in Iran and ends in Mexico. This first blog will be about the culture in Iran, to be more precise, about the Iranian marriage ceremony.
The marriage ceremony is one of the oldest traditions in Iran and has been influenced by a lot of different factors. There are many local variations of the ceremony and the Islam traditions have also changed the marriage ceremony in a big way. The marriage of the couple itself is actually only a small part of the big picture, and the two lucky people themselves have very little to say in the preparation. The family will take care of everything, from sometimes even choosing the right partner for their son or daughter, to organizing the entire party.
The government wants to be involved in the ceremony and has spend more than one billion dollar to help young couples arrange their marriage. They will provide them with cheap loans and this is necessary because some marriages can cost overa hundred thousand dollar.
I am a big fan of the marriage ceremony, but I like to keep things small. And because Im not a religious person, I wouldnt want any interference of any religion. Marriage should just be two people who love each other and who want to show that to their friends and family with a small ceremony.
I would hate it if I would have to get married in Iran. Other people who organize the whole thing, without having the chance to change it into something you want. And, in my opinion, it would be horrible to have to marry someone youve never met before in your entire life. I cant believe that those fixed marriages can have a happy ending. Maybe some couples have all the luck of the world on their side and get matched up to the right person, but thats probably something very rare.
Im not quite sure want to think about the government giving away all that money to support marriage. In a way its good that young couples get some help to follow their dream and have a perfect marriage. But when I think of Iran, I always think about government involvement in almost everything that their citizens do. And I think that this is also a way for the Iranian government to have a little more grip on the people of Iran. But maybe Im a little bit pessimistic and Iran is doing this just because they want the best for all the people of Iran.
So, this was my first blog of our trip from Iran to Mexico. I hope you enjoyed it, and next week well be in another country and Ill be writing my second blog.
